Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, October 22, 1996

If Willie Brown ever wondered how he could alienate members of the Board of Supervisors, here's the answer: refer to them as "mistresses" and "pantywaist politicians."

Supervisors yesterday had to digest those comments from the mayor when Supervisor Angela Alioto -- who styles herself as Brown's lone opponent on the board -- read the statements made by the mayor in the presence of a magazine writer. There were awkward smiles and forced laughter, but even the most loyal supervisors expressed dismay afterward.

"If he actually said that, I would be very disappointed," said Supervisor Mabel Teng. "It was disrespectful, especially of women."

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Brown's comments are found deep within a mostly favorable portrait of the mayor that spans 19 pages of the current New Yorker. Author Marshall Frady had sat in on a tense meeting between Brown and rent control advocates who wanted the mayor to push a pet bill of theirs though the board as soon as possible. But Brown had said supervisors should not be pressured during the election season.

Of course, the ever-quotable mayor didn't use quite those words. "These are long term relationships," he thundered at one point. "These are mistresses you have to service!"

Tucked away on Page 215 near an ad for monogrammed brooches, the comments caused no ripple. But when they were repeated in yesterday's Chronicle, the volatile Alioto hit the roof.

"He can go service all the mistresses he wants, but they aren't on the board," Alioto declaimed. "I resent it! I want an apology!"

Siding with Alioto, albeit in a restrained manner, was Supervisor Susan Leal. She focused on Brown's reference to "pantywaist politicians . . . whose perception of the world is limited to their guaranteed vote."

"I thought it was inappropriate that the mayor of this city would make such comments about his colleagues," Leal said. "I hope they weren't heartfelt."

Brown, in fact, has made it a point this year to be lavish in his praise of the board. But the mayor's eloquence has tumbled toward embarrassment throughout his career. As early as 1966, he ran into trouble as an assemblyman because of "his reputation for boastfulness," according to a new biography by James

Richardson.

For now, supporters are grumbling about disrespect but doing their best to shrug things off.

"He was trying to be humorous, and it didn't come off that way," said Supervisor Sue Bierman, a longtime ally. She then corrected herself: "I have to assume it was a misquote or out of context."

Teng took the same line. "I wouldn't believe Mayor Brown would have said anything like that. He doesn't talk that way to me."

Brown was at a golf tournament benefitting the Mayor's Youth Fund yesterday and could not be reached for comment.